Antec Nine Hundred Two: Second Generation Gamer Case
by Christoph Katzer on February 13, 2009 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Comparison
With everything installed, let's take a look at one of the more important aspects of any case: cooling performance and acoustic noise.
Noise levels are good but not spectacular. We have definitely seen better cases when it comes to keeping things quiet, but we have also seen worse designs. As expected, high fan speeds increase noise levels quite a bit. It's also worth mentioning that the fans that Antec includes are not particularly quiet; purchasing fans from a different vendor noticeably reduced noise levels.
Temperatures are quite good overall, particularly the hard drive and ambient temperatures. We tested with the fans set to both low and high speed, and as expected the temperatures are generally lower at high fan speeds. However, it's interesting to note that CPU temperatures actually increased at the higher fan speed, potentially indicating a problem with airflow at that setting. Now let's see how this case compares to other cases when it comes to proper cooling.
Note: The first column is the CPU temperature, the second represents the graphics cards, the third is for the hard drives, and the last one is the ambient temperature.
Note: The first column is the CPU temperature, the second represents the graphics cards, the third is for the hard drives, and the last one is the ambient temperature.
Temperatures are very important when comparing different cases. Naturally, some cases are larger or smaller, but in terms of raw cooling performance the Nine Hundred Two is near the top of the charts. Again, keep in mind that we are using a high-end build with a quad-core CPU and three of the hottest graphics cards around -- not your typical setup. We will add a midrange system in the near future in order to provide additional performance insight.
The idle temperatures are the lowest of any of the tested cases; only Antec Skeleton offers a lower ambient system temperature, but you would expect that from the "open" design. The Silverstone FT01 and Raven along with the Antec Skeleton also offer better CPU temperatures. Moving to the load tests, overall performance drops somewhat, with a CPU temperature that is higher than everything but the rather old Silverstone TJ10. GPU temperatures are near the top, with hard drive and ambient temperatures clearly benefiting the most from the cooling design.
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7Enigma - Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - link
Circular swirling of hot air stuck inside the case? Doesn't make a lot of sense with the huge 200mm exhaust fan at the top but I guess anything is possible when you cram 3 large graphics cards and multiple HD/opticals in there. I did a double take when I saw the open case shot with everything installed. It looked like a mini-ATX!!!Christoph Katzer - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Nope,volgagerman - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Any chance we'll see a review of the Cooler Master HAF932 on this site? It seems to offer the best possible cooling at the moment, if you can get past the military data center look. Just curious as to how it would compare with the rest of your current lineup from a temp/acoustic perspective.sonci - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Not surprised that is a good cooling case, tons of fans without dust filters, certainly not for my living room..Zak - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
I'm actually running an older CM Stacker with lots of fans and no filters and due to large positive pressure very little dust accumulates inside. It can be done. Z.7Enigma - Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - link
Does....Not....Compute....Unless you have a filter on the intake fan(s), there is no way you are not accumulating dust inside unless that is a jet engine on the intake side that prevents any dust from settling. I'll agree if you have adequate positive pressure on a FILTERED intake you will see very little dust in the system. But if you are telling me you have zero filtration, I just don't see it being possible unless you're in a cleanroom.
fri2219 - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Kind of defeats the purpose of the fans.I guess they surmised that if you put enough plastic windows and blinking lights on it, you'd be able to sell a bowl of tapeworms to you average WoWTard.
Bonesdad - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
I think it's pretty hideous...MamiyaOtaru - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Looks better than the original 900 IMHO. That slanted front was hideous. I don't mind this one at all, though I wish the pastic accents would go.Nfarce - Friday, February 13, 2009 - link
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. I think it's pretty cool looking. Apparently the "in" thing right now for cases is military stealth-type design with angular references. Kinda like something you'd see in a futuristic Sci-Fi flick.